CHANGING ROOMS, the home makeover show that has been part of the furniture on our screens for eight years, has finally kicked the paint kettle.

The BBC has brought the curtain down on the programme after 15 series of whirlwind DIY, daring colour schemes, creative lighting effects and fluffy cushions.

While the designs were often elaborate, the premise was simple - two sets of friends, guided by a professional, redesigning a room in each others' homes.

Happier times

The programme was a massive hit, transferring from BBC Two to One, where it regularly attracted 10 million viewers. The format was sold to 20 countries.

The BBC says the show has nothing less than "revolutionised how people look at their homes and what they can do with them".

But its appeal may also have had something to do with viewers' hope of seeing participants horrified at the unveiling of a design debacle.

Changing Rooms gave major career makeovers to its stars, who became household names.

Long-time presenter Carol Smillie presented the National Lottery show. Designer Linda Barker disappeared into the jungle, for ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, then reappeared everywhere in inescapable advertising campaigns.

DIY guru "Handy" Andy Kane's attempt to nail a pop career, with the single If I Had a Hammer, was thankfully short-lived.

Friends may have foreseen Changing Rooms' demise when Carol Smillie announced her departure in 2002.
Replacement presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen says the programme has "done everything there is to do" and is finishing "on a high note".

For Changing Rooms' millions of fans, the countless imitations now plastered across the channels should help cushion the blow.

Changing Rooms has been laid to rest in an MDF (medium density fibreboard) coffin lined with recycled table linen. The makers spent less than £500.